St. Walburga

Born: c.710

Died: 779

Canonized: pre-Congregation

Feast Day: February 25

Patron Saint of: famine

Also known as Walpurgis and Vaubourg.

Walburga, born in Devonshire and educated at Wimborne Abbey in Dorset and was
highly skilled in medicine. The Benedictine monk, St. Boniface from Nursling
Abbey near Southampton, was the inspiration of numerous mainland European
missions which originated from England. One of those influenced by Saint
Boniface was Saint Walburga; she and her brother Winebald both answered the
mission call to help convert the Germans in the 8th Century. During her life,
she was elected to the influential post of abbess of the double monastery (monks
and nuns) of Heidenheim in Germany; that monetary was started by her brother
Winebald but Saint Walburga wasn't elevated to that post until after Winebald's
death.

She is invoked as a protectress of famine, possibly as a result of confusion
of her name with 'Walborg', which translates to "Mother Earth".

Also of note was the fact that Saint Walburga's body was transferred from its
original burial location to Eichstätt on a day of the calendar that was reserved
for a local pagan feast. Unfortunately, Saint Walburga's name became associated
with that day of witchcraft even though there is no other connection between the
future Saint and that pagan event.